“Bis dat qui cito dat” is a Latin adage, and its English translation is “He gives twice who gives quickly.” A person who gives to someone in need is uplifting the affliction of that someone in need. There are those who give when asked but give later. Give at once so that the one in need receives double joy and his/her trouble is immediately relieved. Jesus Himself asserts: “Give to the one who asks of you and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow,” (v. 42). If you really intend to give and have something to give, don’t delay. Give without delay to the needy person so that he/she may live.

One may ask: “Suppose I have nothing material or financial to give, what must I give?” One may not have anything to give but, for sure, he/she has a heart to give. Saying kind words, listening with sympathy, giving a smile, giving attention with an understanding heart, are simple acts that may not immediately answer the needs of an afflicted person, but certainly it will make his/her heavy burden lighter.

In other words, as Christians it is our responsibility to give and to help. The one who gives instantly will surely make God smile for, we never know, the recipient might be God Himself in the disguise of a needy person. (Fr. Peru T. Dayag, SVD Bible Dairy 2002)

******************************************************************

1.) From Jojo Caballes, SVD (Bible Diary 2004)

A Spanish Proverb: “To turn evil for good is devilish. To return good for good is human. To return good for evil is godlike.”

OR: When a pony kicked a little boy, his father decided to take quick revenge. He gave the animal a swift kick in return. The result was disappointing. The man suffered two broken toes. Then he found that his son had not been injured after all. Neither was the pony.

REVENGE is the poor delight of little minds (Juvenal).

VENGEANCE is the caricature of justice when charity is absent. We might get the notion that “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” is a form of justice.

JUSTICE by all forms is charity in external expression because it restores rather than destroys, reclaims rather than abandon relationships.

VENGEANCE, on the other hand, usually get people at odds with each other whenever they try to get even. Jesus’ use of symbolisms like cheek, shawl and the load only emphasize the need to overcome the spirit of vengeance.

********************************************************************

Two monks lived in a cave for more than ten years. The first one was getting bored with the daily routine. So he proposed to his companion: “Let’s do what the world does.” The second monk answered: “What does the world do?” “Well, for one, the world quarrels,” said the first. “And how do you begin a quarrel?” asked the other monk. The proponent of the project clarified: “here is a stone. Let each one of us claim, ‘This stone is MINE!’ Let me start, this stone is MINE!’ The second monk reflected and considered their friendship and all they had gone through and said: “Well, brother, if the stone is yours, take it”. And there was peace once more in the cave.

Jesus proposes his way in the face of enemy threat: ‘if someone slaps you on your right cheek turn and offer the other.” Being good to one’s enemy is typically Jesus way, unexpected, new and life-giving. The way of Christ gives time and chance to the adversary to reflect on his own way and see his mistake. The goodness and goodwill that unexpectedly precede also generate the atmosphere for such a reflection. Lincoln once claimed that to conquer his enemies, he made them his friends.

A welcome bonus that comes our way when we adopt Christ’s way is liberation from sickness and sadness. Dale Carnegie discovered this and wrote: “When we hate our enemies, we are giving them power over us; power over our sleep, our appetites, our blood pressure, health and our happiness.” (Fr. Atilano Corcuera, SVD (Bible Diary 2005)

In the university where I once attended, a professor insisted that in the gradation of virtues love is not necessarily higher than justice. In certain cases, he said, justice has to be exacted first before we can even talk about love. He cited the examples of the Holocaust and the murders at Nanking. He said that it would be meaningless to talk about love to the survivors of those persecutions without talking first of justice. The professor who had conducted an extensive study on the survivors of the Holocaust has a point but I think the overemphasis on the concept of retribution undermines the universal applications of love and justice. After all, justice is not really opposed to love and love cannot compromise justice.

We can take the example of Jesus. He demonstrated to us how His sense of love overpowers His senses of justice. It was by the death of Jesus Christ that God was able to demonstrate His absolute love. He was the innocent Lamb of God who paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay.

I have always been taught in the seminary that in the gradation of virtues, love is always higher than justice. In the gospel for today, Jesus talks about “an eye for an eye,” referring to the Jewish law of retribution but then He readily followed it with the urging to offer the other cheek if struck by another.

This teaching has become absurd and strange these days. Many people of today exact justice not even within the fold of the law but as a personal vendetta where the law is taken into the hands of the aggrieved. This kind of justice is demonstrated in the Philippines by the death of numerous journalists who took the courage of exposing the wrongdoings of the powerful and influential few.

Jesus’ teaching on love then has become more urgent than ever if we are to achieve true peace and harmony! (Fr. Eugene Docoy, SVD Bible Dairy 2006)

********************************************************************

We can imagine how startled the listeners of Jesus were. Surely Jesus must be joking. Love the Roman army which has plundered our farms! Desecrated our synagogues! And occupied our land! Love the enemy who has taxed our property! Humiliated our leaders! And enslaved our youth!

Indeed, it was hard saying to her. Nevertheless, it is recorded by the evangelist Matthew without any qualifications or exceptions. Religious commentators agree that Christ’s command to love one’s enemy is one of his unique and original sayings. It has no parallel in biblical or other Jewish literature of the period.

Why would Jesus make such as incredible statement? Because Jesus said, “Unless your holiness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom…” in a word, “you must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” That is why we must love our enemy. we have to do more than what is humanly expected and imitate our heavenly Father, who loves both the good and the bad without discrimination. It is natural and human to love friends. But we, followers and disciples of Christ, should do more.

Jesus commands us to love our enemies, not because He approves their wickedness but because He loves all His creatures and wants them to be saved; not so much because of what they are now, sinners, but because of what they can become, saints.

On the cross, Jesus showed how far we may have to go in loving our enemies.

In the midst of today’s crisis especially social, economic, moral and political crises, Jesus needs new witnesses to this power of love over hate and forgiveness over animosity. Will we stand up and show that we are Christian by our love for our enemies. (Fr. Romy Bancale, SVD Bible Diary 2007)

….if we hold on to the savage mentality of justice as in “tooth for a tooth” and “an eye for an eye,” many of us would have only few good teeth left or we would look like one-eyed pirates!

“Revenge is mine,” says the Lord. Revenge is never good for it creates more problems and destroys more people. It leaves behind in its wake more sadness and emptiness, and before long the feeling of revenge changes into remorse. But often it is too late.

Today’s gospel challenges us to be extra generous. Knowing our psyche, the Lord is asking us to do something very radical. We know that it is easy to make a loan or to borrow money, but it is twice harder to pay it. A friend even told me once that if someone borrows money from you, give it if you can and forget about it. When you get it back, it will be a bonus! (Fr. Carlos Lariosa, SVD Bible Diary 2009)

********************************************************************

June 13, 2016 Monday

This is what a christian ethic is all about – being heartless? Yes! being heartless to oneself but being kindhearted to others. This is an ethic that obliterates the self ‘unless you deny yourself…’ and exalts the other. This is an ethic that says ‘if you want to be the master, be a slave; if you want to be exalted, be humble; if you want to be the first, be the last, if you want to be great, be a servant…’

An ethic that exalts non-retaliation, humiliation, not self-seeking; an ethic that does not even think of rights but of duties, not of privileges but of responsibilities. This is an ethic that is not concerned about doing what one likes, but about ‘doing what is of service to others.’ Even if the task is compelled upon you, do it with a smile and do it to the best of your abilities. Is this human ethic? No. This is Divine ethic, Christian ethic: for you have to “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” How do you measure up to this kind of ethic? (Fr. Jojo Caballes, SVD |SHP, Kamuning, QC Bible Diary 2016)

rveritas-asia.org/daily-reflection/703-june-13-2016-monday

****************************************************************

PEACE TO ALL (Matt 5:38-42): As most of you know, my teenage idol was Bruce Lee. But my childhood idol was Popeye. People still enjoy Popeye cantons up to now. The story varies but the plot is always the same: Popeye and Olive living together in peace and happiness and then Brutus comes along, beats up Popeye and the spinach comes forth and then Popeye’s muscles are flexed; Brutus is defeated. Sweet revenge ends every Popeye episode.

As you can see, my teenage and childhood idol are both violent men – violent people whose passion was to win over people by flexing muscles, by using brute force in order to redeem. I must admit that I still have that tendency to be violent and to get even by force. That is why I chose “PAX” to be my motto as bishop. It was not so much a recognition of what I have lived for but what I need to overcome in me, which is thirst for revenge, which is a disposition for violence.

It is very obvious that the morality of Popeye is not the morality of Jesus. the way Jesus deals with Brutuses is not by taking spinach and then annihilating Brutus. The morality of Jesus in promoting peace is rather befriending the enemy, not annihilating evil, but making sure that evil is transformed into good. It is hard but who said Christianity is easy.

Up to now we have not really given the gospel of peace and non-violence a chance in our lives.

You have seen my name in the newspapers, in the television, over the radio, as a conspirator, as a plotter, as whatever.

I am not Popeye. So I will not destroy those who spread calumny against me. I am another Christ. Therefore my energy is not spinach. My energy is the Bread of Life. I am not Popeye. I am supposed to be another Jesus. my language is not revenge. My language is conversion.

I am not a pacifist. I do not just seek peace by playing blind to injustice. I am not a sadist. I do not find pleasure in pain. It takes more strength to overcome evil by the power of good than to seek revenge and get even with Brutus. Love is more powerful than revenge. Did not the Servant of Yahweh say:

The Lord God has given me

A well-trained tongue,

That I might know how to speak to the weary

A word that will rouse them.

Morning after morning

He opens my ear that I may hear;

And I have not rebelled,

Have not turned back.

I gave my back to those who beat me,

My cheeks to those who plucked my beard;

My face I did not shield

From buffets and spitting.

The Lord God is my help,

Therefore I am not disgraced;

I have set my face like flint,

Knowing that I shall not be put to shame.

*******************************************************************

TURN THE OTHER CHEEK

By Bo Sanchez

The passage above may be the most misunderstood passage in the entire Bible.
A lot of people think that Jesus wants us to be defenseless wimps in front of the difficult people in our lives.

But if you really understood their culture and history, you’d understand how all these steps were about protecting yourself while still showing respect and love for the difficult person. In their culture, there were different kinds of slaps.

An open-palm slap is the slap of a master to a slave. But a backhand slap is the slap of equals. So when Jesus said, “If someone slaps you on the right cheek (which was an open-palm slap), turn your left cheek (which will require a backhand slap),” you’re actually protecting your dignity and telling your abuser, “Treat me as an equal.”
You can’t transform a difficult person by allowing yourself to be abused by him. That is why the first step to transform a difficult person is to protect yourself from him or her.
By protecting yourself, you gain the freedom to love the difficult person in a genuine way. But why is a difficult person difficult? Because he’s a broken person. Deep down, he lacks love. He’s very wounded inside. He could be a vicious monster outside, but inside, he’s a small whimpering child, crying, begging for love.
Bad people are broken people. You can’t heal their badness.

But you can heal their brokenness. How? With tough love. At the end of the day, only love changes people. Love yourself… and then love others.

******************************************************************

My Reflection for Monday June 16, Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time; Matthew 5:38-42 – Reflection: What would we gain if we exact revenge to those who’ve aggrieved and injured us? Nothing except further enmity and injury then at the end there will be no winners only losers.

Take for example disagreements and quarrels, if a person will exact revenge for the injury that was caused her/him. It would only become a vicious cycle of disagreements and quarrels that has no ending. This is the result of our unforgiveness but what if we take the high road of forgiveness and humility? Then things will be OK, there’s no hatred or any kind of bad feeling in our hearts.

It’s hard to be humble, it’s hard to forgive and it’s hard not to retaliate for the injury that was done to us. But let us look at Jesus on the cross and reflect on the wounds that we have carved on HIS body by our sinfulness. What if HE has not forgiven us, what if HE did not humble himself for us?

What Jesus gives us today are valuable lessons on humility and forgiveness that will help us build bridges instead of walls. The gospel reading for today is very easy to look at and read. But can we live it? If we abhor hostility, if we are humble and if we are truly passionately in love with Jesus we would be able to live these teachings. (Marino J. Dasmarinas)

Reflection: Do you know that exacting revenge against someone who did you wrong will not do you any good? For example you discovered that your spouse was unfaithful to you and you get back at her/him by being unfaithful as well. Do you know that you’re only enveloping yourself with sin?

There’s a psychological study that says that when a person is at the height of his anger he momentarily loses his rationality that’s why he/she commits sin that is unthinkable for him/her to do. After which he/she gains his/her rationality but it’s already late because sin has already been committed.

In the gospel passage Jesus told the disciples: “offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles (Matthew 5:39-41).

Jesus did not retaliate for all the punishments and insults that the Jews and roman soldiers did to Him, He was always meek and humble. May we always be meek and humble also to those who sin against us most especially sins inside the marriage covenant.

May we learn to turn the other cheek, hand our cloak and learn to walk some more miles for the sake of peace and eventual harmony inside the marriage covenant.

Instead of retaliating with the betrayal of the marriage covenant which will only make us sin. Why not engage in dialogue, prayer and forgiveness? – Marino J. Dasmarinas

mjdasma.blogspot.com/2016/06/reflection-for-june-13-monday-saint.html

******************************************************************

MOLAR CRATER: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’” – Matthew 5:38

I had not been able to eat well for seven long years. I couldn’t even come close to the pretty, giggly, sweet-smelling girls. I never attended any of my high school dances. And it was all because my breath stank! Every girl I had spoken to has had nightmares or Ground Zero disintegration.

You see, I had a totally rotten right molar. A slight mistake got food particles lodged into the gaping cavity, sending unimaginable, brain-shattering pain to my entire body. Then I saw my dentist. In two days, I was eating normally! In three days, I attended my first party, wearing my Close-Up smile. I realized how much I had deprived myself all these years. I told myself, “Now, I live!”

My friend, anger and bitterness are rotten molars. They destroy your life. They rob you of the joy of what life is all about. In contrast, forgiveness heals. It is the kindness you extend to the other person. But most importantly, forgiveness is the kindness you extend to yourself. Forgiveness heals you!

Do yourself a favor. Forgive. Jon Escoto (faithatworkjon@gmail.com)

Reflection: What could be the main source of your stress today? Do you need to forgive someone?

Lord, let me know that I need forgiveness. Fill me with Your forgiveness. Then, I can draw from the well of my forgiven heart, and freely give it to those who hurt me.

kerygmafamily.com/modules/dailyreadings/read.php?date=2014-06-16

*******************************************************************

1ST READING: Jezebel is not a nice person. She is a scheming sinner who thinks only of her own desires. Unfortunately Ahab is a weak and sinful man who is unable to stand against the evil scheming of his wife. An innocent man is killed in order for Ahab and Jezebel to gain his land. There are eerie similarities with the story of David and Uriah. Unfortunately, with Ahab and Jezebel, we do not have the redeeming nature of David’s repentance and sorrow. 1 Kings 21:1-16

GOSPEL: Revenge never solves our problems. It will never satisfy our anger at a wrong done to us. In fact revenge will only make a situation worse by heaping sin upon sin upon sin. There is no end to revenge taking until someone chooses the path of forgiveness. Forgiveness is the only way that a wrong can be redressed. We need to learn to forgive one another in the way God has forgiven us if we want to build God’s Kingdom in our lives. Matthew 5:38-42

think: We need to learn to forgive one another in the way God has forgiven us if we want to build God’s Kingdom in our lives.

kerygmafamily.com/modules/dailyreadings/read.php?date=2014-06-16

*******************************************************************

LOVE HURTS – The law of retaliation was a normal principle in Old Testament times. It was ethically approved and legal to rule out feuds within clans by way of an eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, wound for wound. Sounds great? Sounds like revenge. Jesus teaches the way of love, challenging and selfless indeed. I don’t know about you, but I cringe at the thought that I must offer no resistance to the wicked as the words of Jesus in the Gospel today express. Where is justice in that?

Justice acts out of love, and love manifests itself through forgiveness. The Lord reminds us that vengeance belongs to Him. We are simply called to offer Him our troubles and injustices, and trust that He will act — in His time and in God’s way. Jesus’ Beatitudes are moral acts and behavior codes that will enable us to live the Christian way of life in imitation of Jesus. There is too much retaliation in the world today. One only has to be informed of the riots among countries that are seeking peace and security, though often through drastic measures and not being guided by love. Violence begets violence. That is why I abhor computer games that thrive on shooting and killing. What kind of impact do these have upon our youth as they spend hours playing these mind-deadening games?

Jesus teaches His followers to give and not to count the cost, to go over and beyond what is expected, to offer the other cheek when one is struck. Sounds very painful, but this is the way of love — a love that hurts as Jesus shows us, par excellence, in taking up His cross and being crucified. It is wonderful to love in this way and we must not be abashed in seeking from the Lord the grace to love and forgive. Fr. Brian Steele, MGL

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Have you been hurt in such a way that you plan to retaliate? Do you trust that the Lord will act on your behalf and for the cause of your righteousness?

Lord, remove from me any desire to seek revenge and to hurt my offender. Give me a steadfast and right spirit as I place my trust in You. Amen.

kerygmafamily.com/modules/dailyreadings/read.php?date=2014-06-16

********************************************************************

THE OTHER CHEEK – “When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.” – Matthew 5:39

I’ve misinterpreted the verse above for the longest time. I thought it meant I should offer my left cheek if someone slapped my right. Yes, abuse me more!

But Bo Sanchez clarified the meaning of this verse in one of his talks. He said that during the olden days, slapping someone with the back part of the hand was an assertion of one’s authority over the other. It insults the dignity of the slapped person who is deemed to be of lower class.

If the other cheek was offered after a first slap, the natural tendency was for the attacker to give a second slap using his open palm. This presents a dilemma. Based on cultural practices, an abuser can only use his right hand to slap. If he uses his open palm to slap, it means he’s recognizing the other person as his equal. In effect, if the slave receives a second slap with an open palm, he was deemed an equal. Offering the other cheek was a peaceful and intelligent way of dealing with an aggressor.

When faced with hostility, do the smart thing by surrendering to God your right to retaliate. Pray for the other person and let God be your Vindicator.Carlo Lorenzo (carloflorenzo@yahoo.com)

Reflection: Who has hurt you recently? Decide today to surrender to God your right to take revenge and allow Him to bless you even more because of that decision.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, take the unforgiveness in my heart, bind it at the foot of the cross, and replace it with peace in my heart. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

CONVENT SECRET – I just had a brief yet very enriching talk with a Japanese nun who came to share her retreat thoughts, with an interpreter of course. The nun said she looked forward to celebrating 75 years of religious vows. She narrated how she had found life in the convent more challenging than the family she came from. She said her family was very warm and loving, while life inside the convent is an encounter with people from various backgrounds, with their own baggages and “boiling points.” Her secret: never had she tried a confrontation with anyone who is not herself. She shared that she respects the others’ emotional spaces and sentimental moments. She uses another staircase in the house, if need be, until things settle down. She’s a person with a lot of common sense and simple wisdom.

Jesus’ words about managing conflicts show that common sense and simple wisdom are also part of spirituality. Much of spirituality is about keeping one’s peace amidst everything. This peace is God’s reward to all who make the decision — to be less focused on self, to be less concerned with personal privilege and prerogative. The Apostle Paul wrote the Philippians (2:6ff) that this is the very cornerstone of the earthly life of Jesus: “Though he is God, he did not deem equality with God as something to be grasped… rather, he emptied himself…”

To empty oneself and to be a true instrument of peace involves throwing away:

S = self-defense and sweet revenge

E = expectations and emotions

L = likes and loves

F = facades

The welfare of the other becomes one’s criteria for thought, word and action. It is to be done deliberately with Christian empathy, seeing one as a brethren in Jesus Christ or as a fellow child of God. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: What do you find hard to put aside in a situation of conflict where you are the aggrieved party? As a renewed Christian, what is your favorite justification for fighting back? Talk this out with The Lord in prayer.

It is not always easy to forget myself, Lord. I resolve to do better with Your grace. Amen.

kerygmafamily.com/modules/dailyreadings/read.php?date=2015-06-15

********************************************************************

GO THE EXTRA MILE! If anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. – Matthew 5:41

In my experience, there are five types of poverty mentality. The Trapped Belief says, “I was born poor and will remain poor for the rest of my life.”

The Juan Tamad Belief, says, “No amount of effort can make me rich, so I will just be lazy for the rest of my life.”

The Wish-Ko-Lang Belief says, “My only chance to become rich is to win the lotto or Who Wants to Be a Millionaire show.”

The Rich-Is-Evil Belief says, “I hate the rich and don’t want to become rich. The rich demean and oppress the poor.”

Finally, the Con Belief says, “Because the rich are evil, let’s cheat and steal from them so they’ll be as miserable as us.”

But the Gospel teaches there’s a sure-fire way to become affluent. And that’s to go the extra mile! We don’t just give what we can. We give our very best and never stop improving, never stop growing, never stop giving. This is what Anglican theologian John Wesley meant when he said, “Work… earn… save… give as much as you can.”

Real wealth is enriching your life so that you can enrich others. Go the extra mile, my friend, and all these things shall be added unto you. Obet Cabrillas (kpreacherobet@gmail.com)

Pope Francis Says: “When we are generous in welcoming people and sharing something with them — some food, a place in our homes, our time — not only do we no longer remain poor: we are enriched.”

Bless me, Lord, that I can work, earn, save and give as much as I can.

The teachings of Jesus in today’s Gospel provide us with two secrets for leading a serene and peaceful life.

Never seek retaliation for any injury or insult.

People think that by retaliating they are going to get peace and justice. Can one feel good after taking revenge? Hate begets hate and violence begets violence. When we keep grudges in our hearts, when we think of taking revenge, it is we ourselves that suffer first: our concentration is lost, peace and serenity evade us; we are moody, lose hunger and taste for food, we are not focused. For the continuous thought of the injustice done to us or the injury inflicted upon us steal our peace of mind. To save humanity from the self made prison of bitterness and boiling anger, Jesus suggests the sure and the only medicine “forgiveness from the heart”. Hate cannot end hate, violence cannot end violence. Only loving forgiveness can end the chain of hatred and violence. When we forgive others we are earning merit in front of God, who will also forgive the many sins and faults of ours. When we forgive we are also creating new friendships and bridges. Hence, the one who forgives is never a loser, but a winner. We have living examples of such heroic forgivers, who have added value to our Christian living, like Nelson Mandela, who forgave those who kept him in prison for 27 years and is still working for forgives and reconciliation among war –torn African tribes, Mrs Gladis Stein who forgave the murderers of her missionary husband and two minor children, and the parents of Sr Rani Maria, who was brutally killed in the missions. Their life examples amply proves to us that what Jesus asks us in today’s Gospel are practical.

Be generous in doing your duties

The second secret for a happy life is to serve others generously. There are two ways of doing things. One is doing the minimum possible as required by the duty with the minimum of efficiency. No one can object to that person, for he has done his duty. But there is another way of doing things: doing with a smile, with gracious courtesy, with enthusiasm and maximum efficiency as if it is an offering to God. This is what Jesus means, when he asks us to walk the extra mile.

navchetana.com/web/homilies.php?date=2015-06-15

*******************************************************************

Monday of 11th week in Ordinary Time C

Kgs 21:1-16; Mt 5:38-42

Keep the Peace of Your Heart

The teachings of Jesus in today’s Gospel provide us with two secrets for leading a serene and peaceful life.

Never seek retaliation for any injury or insult.

People think that by retaliating they are going to get peace and justice. Can one feel good after taking revenge? Hate begets hate and violence begets violence. When we keep grudges in our hearts, when we think of taking revenge, it is we ourselves that suffer first: our concentration is lost, peace and serenity evade us; we are moody, lose hunger and taste for food, we are not focused. For the continuous thought of the injustice done to us or the injury inflicted upon us steal our peace of mind. To save humanity from the self made prison of bitterness and boiling anger, Jesus suggests the sure and the only medicine “forgiveness from the heart”. Hate cannot end hate, violence cannot end violence. Only loving forgiveness can end the chain of hatred and violence. When we forgive others we are earning merit in front of God, who will also forgive the many sins and faults of ours. When we forgive we are also creating new friendships and bridges. Hence, the one who forgives is never a loser, but a winner. We have living examples of such heroic forgivers, who have added value to our Christian living, like Nelson Mandela, who forgave those who kept him in prison for 27 years and is still working for forgives and reconciliation among war –torn African tribes, Mrs Gladis Stein who forgave the murderers of her missionary husband and two minor children, and the parents of Sr Rani Maria, who was brutally killed in the missions. Their life examples amply proves to us that what Jesus asks us in today’s Gospel are practical.

Be generous in doing your duties

The second secret for a happy life is to serve others generously. There are two ways of doing things. One is doing the minimum possible as required by the duty with the minimum of efficiency. No one can object to that person, for he has done his duty. But there is another way of doing things: doing with a smile, with gracious courtesy, with enthusiasm and maximum efficiency as if it is an offering to God. This is what Jesus means, when he asks us to walk the extra mile. Dr. Jacob Marangattu CMI

On the topic of retaliation, it is interesting to observe how the Bible’s teaching evolved—as on so many other topics, despite the stubborn denials of the fundamentalists who refuse to admit that the Bible corrects itself on many points.

At the beginning, retaliation knows no limit. This state of affairs is reflected in a boast of Lamech (of the 8th generation after Adam, according to Gen 5) who says to his wives: “I have killed a man for wounding me, a boy for bruising me” (Gen 4:23). But later the Bible taught that the punishment should not exceed the injury inflicted: “Limb for limb, eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Lev 24:20). This was obviously a great moral progress.

But in today’s gospel reading Jesus goes much beyond all that: not only must his followers give up all idea of retaliation, but they are to be extremely liberal in answering the requests of other people. Naturally we cannot take Jesus’ words literally here because some dishonest people or social parasites would exploit our kindness shamelessly. However, the orientation given is very clear: taking into account our various duties and obligations and responsibilities (i.e. to our immediate family), we must try to be as generous as we reasonably can.